The Labour Party and Liberal Democrats both released their manifestos this week.
Lib Dem policies include promoting tenancies of three years or more, with annual rent increases linked to inflation.
This is a policy that seems to make sense, owing to the growing number of families that now live in the private rented sector that seek the security of a longer tenancy.
The question is whether three year tenancies would be the norm, or just another option for landlords and tenants to agree upon. If it’s not forced upon landlords it could be a positive development.
Labour wants to take a more radical step by introducing rent controls capped by inflation.
While this would be beneficial to some tenants in rent controlled homes, it would hit investors in the pocket. It could therefore result in landlords departing from the market, or persuade potential investors not to buy.
This is clearly not a policy the majority of landlords would like to see.
Landlords may take one crumb of comfort from the Labour manifesto however, as it doesn’t mention the controversial ‘private Right to Buy’ policy, so perhaps the party saw sense and dropped it.
Other Lib Dem policies include introducing mandatory licensing for landlords and toughening up sanctions if they break the rules. While this could result in some red tape, it signals a move towards professionalising the sector, which in my view is a positive direction.
The party also seeks to create a programme to insulate all of Britain’s homes by 2030. This also seems like a good policy, as it persuades people to cut emissions and their heating bills at the same time.
Both of the political parties clearly have second homeowners in the crosshairs.
Labour pledged to tax them more, while the Lib Dems pledged to give local authorities the power to increase council taxes by up to 500% on homes purchased as second homes that remain empty for long periods of time.
Both the parties also pledged to tax overseas residents from buying homes.
This is clearly a response to the trend of people from overseas hoovering up London property. You can see the justification when locals can’t afford to buy, though there are some areas of the UK that could benefit from foreign investment.
Both of the political parties seem to fall into the trap of setting unrealistic targets for housebuilding, as the Lib Dems pledged to build 300,000 homes per year by 2024 and Labour vowed to build 150,000 council or housing association homes per year.
Labour’s manifesto does at least address the issue of acquiring land, given that it plans to set up an English Sovereign Land Trust, though this in itself would be highly controversial, as people could be forced to sell land at a low price.
In summary neither party’s manifesto will get landlords excited, though the Lib Dem policies seem the more socially conscious and sensible of the two.
Ryan Bembridge
Editor
Property Wire
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